Last March, I wrote more than a few lines about men’s grooming and the wonderful discovery of wet shaving. I would like to propose to you, my virtual reader, what I could call an update on point IV. The shaving.

At that time I wrote about the delicacies of the double-edge razor, which is really one of the best ways to get a shave… but… for those you are not afraid of sharp blades, I have tried out one of the oldest way of shaving, and loved it: the straight razor shave. It gave me one of the better shaves I ever had. Before giving more insight on this theme, I must add a

WARNING Using a straight razor can be very addictive and you could become infected by RAD (razor acquisition disorder), SAD (strop acquisition disorder) and HAD (hone acquisition disorder)… which could affect at a high level the content of your wallet -in terms of decrease. If you decide to read further on, it is on your own responsibility.

So, for those interested in an old way of shaving, in tradition, comfort, ecology and more, this is for you! What you really -and only- need is a straight razor, a strop and a hone, and you’ll be up for the rest of your life; no waste, nothing to throw in the bin, nothing to recycle, only things to take care of; they will last your whole life, and you’ll even be able to pass them to your children -I have a razor which is more than 150 years old and still is a killer shaver. All that was written in the March post is still valid: first shave with the grain, second with or across, third against… The changes are the followings (you will find useful links at the end of the post):

Razor: you’ll need a straight razor. You can buy new factory ones made by Thiers Issard in France and Dovo in Germany; new custom ones made by Mastro Livi, Joe Chandler, Tim Zowanda, Robert Williams, Bill Ellis and others; new old stock (NOS) -i.e. ancient straight razors but never used-; or second hand razors -used. The price range goes from 40$ up (depending on the material used for the scales, quality of the etching -if any-, use of precious metal…) You’ll be able to choose the width of the blade, usually from 5/8 to 8/8, the grind of the blade, from full hollow ground to a wedge, the point (round, square, French, Spanish, barber notch,…) and sometimes even custom scales. To find the best suited razor for you will be a matter of experiment: some prefer a thicker blade, more heavy like a wedge or a 1/4 hollow, other prefer a more concave blade, less heavy like a full or 3/4 hollow… here it is almost only a matter of personal preferences.
One piece of advice nonetheless -it worked for me, why not for you?: if you are going to buy your first razor, why not try a 1/4 hollow (or a 1/2), 6/8, round point? the 1/4 hollow will be a little heavier and stiffer than a full hollow, thus giving you less feedback (it is a little more easy to handle and forgive more mistakes without cuts) but not as thick as a wedge; the 6/8 is a standard dimension; the round point will spare your ears if you are not careful enough with the point of the blade…

Strop: the strop is a piece of leather, with/without canvas or linen used to prepare the razor’s edge before every shave -remember, it will not sharpen it! I usually strop 60 strokes on linen and 50 on leather before every shave in order to give the blade its smoothness. You can find new factory ones made by Dovo for instance, custom ones made by Tony Miller for example, NOS and second hand.

Hone: you’ll need a hone in order to sharpen or refresh your blade. Concerning sharpening, it is important that you don’t forget that factory razors are NOT shave ready, they need to be sharpen. I couldn’t recommend with enough emphasis to have your first razor pre-honed to a shave ready state either by the shop where you are buying it, or by a honemeister. If your razor is shave ready, you’ll need to hone it every two months (depending on the hardness of the steel, the quality of your beard and the number of shave per week) on a finishing stone (like a Belgian coticule, a Japanese or German finishing stone) or on a pasted strop (with 0.5 diamond paste, 0.5 chromium oxide). If you want to sharpen your razor by yourself, you’ll need a 4000 grit, a 8000 grit and a finishing stone or pasted strop (a very good and inexpensive solution is the Norton combination waterston 4/8K and a pasted strop or coticule).

Advices on straight shaving: at the beginning, don’t even try an against the grain pass; stick with two with the grain passes until you are very comfortable with them; then second pass across until comfortable, and only at the end the pass against the grain. You don’t have to shave your whole face at once if you don’t feel comfortable with it; you can begin with the cheeks -these are more easy. Keep the skin tight and beware of not cutting your fingers. Use your right hand for the right side, and your left hand for the left side (left for right and right for left when going against the grain); it is not easy to learn to change hands, but when mastered it will facilitate your shave. Beware of the point of the razors when going near your ears. The most difficult parts to shave are the chin, the Adam’s apple and the part just under the nose; use extra caution. The usual blade’s angle with the skin is around 30 degrees. Do NOT make a stroke horizontally with the razor, you will cut yourself. And remember: a razor is not a toy but a very sharp and cutting instrument: always use caution, be concentrated on what you are doing and keep your hands dry and if you drop the razor by accident, do NOT try to catch it, but get out of the way… better a broken razor than a finger or a toe cut off.

A few useful links:

Where to get info: Straight Razor Place (English), Le Coupe-Chou Club (French)
Where to buy straight razors: Classic Shaving, Straight Razor Designs, The Shaving Shop, The Invisible Edge, Rasurpur, De Koordenwinkel, Bill Ellis, Heribert Wacker, Mastro Livi
Where to buy strops: Classic Shaving, Straight Razor Designs, Tony Miller
Where to buy hones: Classic Shaving, Straight Razor Designs, Les Ardennes, The perfect Edge, Shapton, Norton, DMT, Spyderco

Have you ever wanted to play with fire without being burned?
Have you ever wanted to play with sharp toys without risking to cut yourself?
Have you ever been in a need of pleasure without looking red afterwards?
Have you ever wonder why you are doing this to your face?

Aaaah… Shaving…

If you are – like me – not one of those who think that it is better to avoid all this trouble by growing a beard, you have probably already asked yourself those questions… how to avoid burns, cuts and skin irritations? Because, think twice, what you are doing when you are shaving, you are doing it to your FACE! So, I will be happy to share with you, potential reader/s, what I have discovered to make this daily routine a sheer pleasure I am looking forward to. And the secret is:

Why not consider wet shaving? you may have understood by now, the answer is yes, indeed

I went through all the steps of the modern shaver: first I shaved using an electric razor… the result was quite good concerning the cuts and burns (almost non existent), mitigated for the irritations but usually a bad shave; then I used a pressurised can of shaving mix and a Gillette 2 then 3 blades… the result was a little worse for the cuts and burns (from time to time), much the same concerning the skin irritations, but a better shave.
After what I decided to try a more classical way of shaving: I use now a safety razor, shaving cream or soap and a shaving brush… believe me or not, but – after a little practice all right – no cuts, no burns, no skin irritation and a wonderful shave!

I will guide you step by step, providing enough information for you to follow the lead, but not too much to be pedant… you will find, at the end of the post below, a few references that provide more info and video.

And first, three MAJOR pieces of advice:
1) It is all about WATER (don’t spare on water, for it is the basic ingredient in wet shaving)
2) It is all about being GENTLE (please, be nice to you… every move must be understood to have the weight of a caress)
3) It is all about taking one’s TIME (all the process of shaving must be conceived as some sort of a ritual; and, as for all ritual, you must take your TIME)

I. The map: first thing to do, one and for all, is to drive a mental (if you are good at remembering) or a drawn map of your beard, in order to know how your whiskers grow. It is important because you will notice that your whiskers are not growing all in the same direction: you will need to know this in order to be able to shave with or against the grain. In order to build this map, simply massage your beard with one or two fingers.

II. The preparation: it is a vital step usually forgotten or underestimated; it is a phase divided in three moments:
II.a To prepare your intimate moment with your razor, it is usually better to shave in the morning, but before breakfast; it is better to wait like 20 minutes after waking up… so a good way to do it is the English way: first thing in the morning after waking up: early morning tea! you can use the classic English breakfast tea or, if you need something stronger, the Irish breakfast tea (I’ll write something on tea later, stay tune); it will take you almost ten minutes to put the kettle on, boil the water and prepare the tea; the next ten minutes will be gone while drinking it. When you are drinking your tea, you can begin your second phase.

II.b First, you need to pour hot water in a mug and plunge your shaving brush in it. It is better to use a natural brush made of badgers’ bristles, than a synthetic one (don’t use boiling water to water the brush, as it could damage the natural badger’s bristles). Here is some good stuff: Edwin Jagger, Kent, Vulfix and Simpsons, but the list is not exhaustive.

At this point you will need a shaving cream or soap. Be advised that the lather is NOT created in the soap or cream container! you will need a bowl to create it. You will find plenty of shaving cream or soap on the market; speaking for myself, I like to use the L’Occitane shaving soap or the The Art of Shaving shaving cream (unscented), but it is up to you to experiment which one goes the best with your skin. Then, in order to charge the brush with the soap or the cream, take it out of the mug and give it a good shake – the brush should not be dripping water – and rub it over the surface of the cream or soap; only the tip of the bristles must be impregnated with the cream or soap (don’t worry, it will pick up enough soap to create a good lather). Now it is time to use the bowl: you need first to swirl your brush during almost one minute around the bowl to grow the lather, during which process you need also to pump a little the brush by working it up and down; this ensures that the water at the base of the brush gets worked into the lather; if you see that the lather is to dry, pour with your finger a few drops of hot water directly in the bowl; if the lather is to wet, take a little more cream or soap. The characteristics of a good lather is that it’s dense and heavy, containing enough water, but not too much (one must not see bubbles). It will take a little time to find the suited cream or soap and the right amount of water and swirl you need to obtain a good lather but, as said previously, time… and patience… (you can also grow the lather in your hand, or directly on your beard… it is up to you but I didn’t find those methods as practical and secure as the one using the bowl)

II.c Now you are ready to begin the first step to soften your beard. Your face will thank you not only to water it (at least during 30 seconds with hot water) but also to use either a liquid soap specially made for the face (I like the one made by Clinic) or a pre-shave oil (I like to use the one made by The Art of Shaving). This will help soften the beard, clear and protect the skin.

III. Applying the lather: now that your face is clean and wet, work the brush in circles on your beard for almost one minute, to obtain a rich and smooth lather on your face. You don’t need to put more cream or soap than to cover your whiskers. Now, you are ready for the shaving part!

IV. The shaving: the important moment… the crucial one… first don’t even think of beard suppression, but stay focus only in term of BEARD REDUCTION! The main order is: BE GENTLE! Concerning the razor, I cannot recommend more: use a safety razor. The common junk-razor with n vibrating blades doesn’t render justice to your face, but if you are afraid of using a real razor blade, you can continue to use your stylish Gillette fusion… and maybe the straight razor just gives you the creeps (nothing to be ashamed of). If you cannot steal your grand-father old Gillette, you may find a new double-edge safety razor interesting… Merkur makes very good DE adjustable safety razor… but, as for the cream, the soap and the brush it is up to you to find the one suiting you. For the shave, I recommend a three-pass method:
IV.a First pass: shave with the grain; be gentle, without giving any pressure to the razor; let the weight of the safety razor do the beard reduction. Proceed with small and short strokes and focus your attention to maintain the correct angle between the blade and your face (your fingers and wrist must not move, it is the arm that is doing the job). By using short strokes, you will not need to straight your skin to have a flat space, and it will be easier to maintain the right angle not to cut yourself. The first time you are using the safety razor, you will perhaps be anxious to find the right angle. In absolute, there is no right angle: razors are different (for example the blade in a gillette will be straight horizontal, but in the Merkur Vision it will be slightly curved) and nobody has the same face… a good trick is to put the head of the razor against your cheek, the handle parallel to the floor. Gradually bring the handle down toward the face as you make a light shaving stroke. When the blade will make contact with the whiskers and begin to cut as you pull the razor, you’ve find the right angle. Be cautious when you come to angles (over the jawline for example); maintaining the angle is the key… And BE GENTLE.
IV.b Second pass exactly as the first one, with the grain (don’t forget to rinse your face and re-lather between every pass). If you have an easy beard, smooth and scattered, you may skip this step… but be careful… still think reduction, not suppression… better one step more than cut.
IV.c The third pass: shave against the grain; be gentle and proceed as usual with special care to the angle, short strokes and no pressure. Now, you may search your face with the tips of your fingers to find places where the whiskers have not been properly cut… if you find any, you can make a special fourth pass on those areas.

V. After the shave: first thing to do is to rinse your face with cold water (not hot water as previously) and clean it from the soap or the cream. If you cut yourself, use a styptic stick (it is quite useful, specially for beginners). And then apply an aftershave balm, at your convenience (I use either the aftershave from L’Occitane or from The Art of Shaving)

And this is it… a real pleasure.

One remark before ending this… maybe you will find quite expensive to buy all this stuff… particularly the brush; but don’t be afraid, the investment will pay! First, you will use your stuff for tens of years… and your razor will be less expensive with the time due to the cheap costs of the blades than a modern one (and I’m not talking about the shaving soap/cream which will last a very long time). Second, you don’t need to buy all this at once, or the most expensive stuff (expensive doesn’t every time mean the best for you); maybe it is best to have first a good brush and a good razor, and then to buy the rest of the stuff without forgetting to experiment (there are a lot of shaving creams, soaps, aftershaves, etc… on the market… maybe the good thing is trying to get samples).

One advice: if you are a beginner, take your time, I beg you. Don’t be discouraged by the first cuts you will have while learning this new technique; it is worth it. In less than a week you will know the trick and you will be more comfortable with the shave.

For those who are interested to gain more informations, I can recommend the forum Badger and Blade, the Leisureguy blog, and the excellent videos from Mantic59…

I hope you will enjoy your next shave.